Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet of Bedtime Hush to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
A wise old owl on an oaken bough looked down at the yawning town,
And hooted to a wakeful child who could not settle down.
Whoo, whoo, said the owl, what keeps your eyelids high?
Is it the thoughts of yesterday or the doubts of tomorrow's sky?
Put yesterday in a pocket and pin it to the past,
For the things you cannot mend tonight are things that will not last.
And tomorrow is a garden that needs no work at all tonight,
It will open up its petals in the morning's rising light.
All you have is now, my dear, so breathe it in and out,
And let your shoulders drop like leaves without a care or doubt.
The child breathed in the quiet and let the breath go free,
And the owl kept watch till slumber came, as still as still can be.
So when your mind is running and your heart is set to race,
Remember what the owl said, and give the night its space.
Poet of Bedtime Hush · Hear it on the channel ↗
Commentary
A wise owl gives a sleepless child three pieces of advice. What seems like a bedtime story is really a small lesson in setting aside yesterday and tomorrow.
An owl “on an oaken bough” hoots to “a wakeful child.” It asks whether the cause is “the thoughts of yesterday” or “the doubts of tomorrow’s sky.” Its advice is to “put yesterday in a pocket and pin it to the past” and to remember that “tomorrow is a garden that needs no work at all tonight.”
The owl reminds the child, “All you have is now,” and asks for a slow breath so shoulders can “drop like leaves.” The child breathes out, the owl “kept watch till slumber came,” and the last couplet passes the advice to every reader whose “mind is running.”